Viaje: Madrid

On the weekend of November 20th, I traveled to Madrid, Spain with my study abroad program.

We did not travel by bus (thank goodness). Instead, we took the high speed train! It was about a three hour trip.

Because I went with my program, everything was all planned out for us. One of the staff of CIEE accompanied us during the trip. His name is Abraham. He is gay and awesome.

Once we arrived in Madrid, we checked into our hostel and set out for the city. Abraham gave us a mini tour, pointing out some of the historical parts of the city (including the well-known gay neighborhood--sweet!). 

Our first stop was the Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate). It is one of the most well-known and crowded places of Madrid. It is also the spot of "the Kilometer Zero" marking on the ground from which all the main roads of Spain radiate. 

Kilometer 0

Plaza getting in the holiday spirit with Christmas lights!

Then we visited the National Film Archive, which is basically a film library that deals with collecting and preserving Spanish film history. It has been a member since 1956 of the International Federation of Film Archives. While there, we listened to a short presentation from one of the directors about Spanish film, and watched a few old clips of videos. 


Then, we had lunch! Everywhere we went, everyone told us we had to try the "bocadillo con calamari" which is a sandwich with calamari (fried squid). Apparently it is an authentic dish from Madrid. Even the guy from the film archive was very excited about this sandwich (then he told us that we must try the tapas, and proceeded to ask us "Do you all know what tapas are?" I almost literally laughed out loud and said "Sir, we are from Sevilla. The tapas capital of the world.) Anyway, I did try the dang sandwich.

It was alright. I mean, I like bread and I like calamari, so I didn't think I wasn't going to like it. But it was nothing special. (People from Madrid are crazy. Sevillanos know real food.)

That night we saw the musical "Avenue Q!" Although I know the show, I had never seen it live. So I was very excited. Also, it was obviously in Spanish, which made things interesting.

The show was excellent. The singing was very impressive and it was quite funny. I understood almost all of it, although there were definitely a few jokes that I didn't get (there were a few times when all of the Spaniards around me were laughing and I was not..) It was also very well translated. Sometimes things like musicals and movies lose their charm in translation when it isn't well done. But this was very well done indeed. Overall, it made for a fantastic evening. 


The next day we visited el Museo del Traje, or the fashion museum.

The museum houses historical artifacts from the world of fashion from the ages of the Catholic Kings to today (although I didn't see anything from Lady Gaga, something they obviously need to work on). It was pretty interesting to see how styles have changed, and even more so how some have not (I swear I own a pair of shoes that look just like the ones Queen Isabela wore).

After our visit in the museum, we strolled through the city some more. It was a perfect autumn day.

Abraham took us to a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I had a delicious pizza and CocaCola.

Oh, and did I mention the best brownie on earth?

It was warm, and gooey with fudge and caramel. Oh dang.

Yeah, I also ate this wonder of a thing.
It was completely filled with warm, homemade caramel.

After we washed down our lunch with a shot of peach vodka (Abraham's idea, not mine), we went to the Museo Reina Sofía, one of the biggest art museums in Spain. Probably the most famous work it holds is Picasso's Guernica.

Salvador Dali, Portrait of Joella

Guernica by Picasso

That night I saw Harry Potter 7 with some friends. As I have already said, it was awesome.

The next day we went to CaixaForum, a cultural and social center of the Fundación "la Caixa." It hosts contemporary art exhibits. 

My favorite exhibit I saw is called "infancia" or "childhood." It is a photography exhibit by Isabel Muñoz of children all over the world who live in poverty. It is also part of "La Caixa Welfare Project for Children" which aims to provide support to these children in need.
 

Check out the kid doing Gaga on the left

 

I also made a (quick) stop at the Prado Museum, which is a gigantic art museum that houses the famous painting Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez.

I did see Las Meninas, but unfortunately did not have time to see much else. (It is hard fitting three art museums in one weekend!) But even if I had spent the whole day there, I wouldn't have been able to see all of it because it his huge. 

Prado Museum

As my weekend trips normally go, Madrid was fun and exhausting. We saw a whole lot in just two days, and I hope to have a chance some day to explore the city more. The whole trip was fantastic (and HP7 made it even better!)